The International Organization for Migration said that humanitarian aid has been denied access parts of the country on Wednesday, a troubling development that came days after the UN Security Council left South Sudan with an apprent agreement to allow unfettered access.
“At the same time as we see the needs continue to grow, access constraints are making it more difficult for humanitarians to access vulnerable people or even measure the scale of displacement and unfolding needs as violence spreads to new locations,” said John McCue, IOM South Sudan Head of Operations.
When the UN Security Council met with President Salva Kiir on Sunday, both agreed to allow humanitarian access. A senior UN diplomat told Radio Tamazuj that President Salva Kiir does not believe that humanitarian access is being blocked in the country.
Due to clashes, over 90,000 people have been displaced from Wau and Juba alone in the past two months, IOM said, evidence of how continued fighting is driving displacement in South Sudan.
The hardest hit areas include Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria and Unity, IOM said, and has stressed humanitarian needs in those areas had increased.
Insecurity in Yei, Morobo, and Magwi countries is preventing South Sudanese from fleeing the country, IOM said.
More than 1.6 million people are internally displaced across South Sudan, in addition to 786,000 people who have fled to neighboring countries since December 2013. More than six million people are in need of relief aid, IOM says.